Beyond Appearances
by Forever-A-Phantom
Summary: Much like Kaito, Shinichi has multiple layers of secrets, and several masks keeping them in the darkness where they belong. At least, until a certain phantom thief comes along and makes things go pear-shaped (he swears it was unintentional). A story of how a hidden outcast comes to accept himself. KaiShin eventually.
1. Chapter 1

Shinichi had just finished buttoning his loose pyjama shirt (it felt so wonderful that it fit him again), when he heard a soft greeting from behind him. He spun around to face the window he'd opened earlier to enjoy the cool night's autumn breeze. When he saw who had joined him, his usual mask of cool confidence slid into place, though he had purposely not tailored it to hide his surprise.

"K-Kid! What are you doing here? And since when does the Kaitou Kid make house calls?" Shinichi did _not_ want any more excitement for the forty-eight hours Haibara said he would get as himself; the next day and a half would be spent not going to Teitan Elementary for second-grade classes, but sleeping, reading, and literally _being himself _(fortunately, Okiya Subaru-san was gone for the week).

And avoiding Ran, of course. He felt torn up enough as it was when she cried because she missed him. He didn't think he would be able to keep himself together if he witnessed her state after what he'd finally told her this evening.

The international criminal descended from Shinichi's windowsill with his trademark grin. "When I heard Tantei-kun had 'gone away for the weekend'," he replied suavely, "I just _had_ to meet his dear older relative whom he so highly regards. I'm not here to do what I usually do; I'm calling a temporary truce for tonight. I deeply apologize for not sending a note in advance, but I hardly had time to prepare one since I found out only this afternoon. You understand, of course."

"So…you're calling a temporary truce just to meet me face-to-face?" This sounded too simple for the Kaitou Kid. He was tempted to ask 'how do you know I'll agree to this truce?' but merely smirked instead. "It seems you know me well if you know that I will honour that truce out of respect for a worthy rival."

Meaning that Kid knew the _mask_ well.

Only Shinichi's parents and Agasa-hakase knew, _really knew_, Shinichi. Ran had never been privy to Shinichi's inner thoughts, even before he'd shrunk, and neither was Hattori now, even though the other detective knew Conan's true identity. Haibara knew what he'd hidden from Ran until only a chunk of hours ago, but only because she was basically his primary care doctor and as such was entitled to know.

Shinichi, of course, would honour the truce, if only to keep the thief from attracting attention to his house and to get rid of him as quickly as possible. Not only was Shinichi tired (though his exhaustion was currently stuffed under the mask), but he was also feeling rather vulnerable at the moment and he just didn't feel up for bantering right now.

The Phantom Thief took a couple steps forward, removed his top hat and executed a light stage bow. When he stood straight again and replaced his hat, his smiled had softened. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Kudou-san."

The only reason Shinichi knew that smile was genuine was because it looked stiff, infrequently used, and Kid would have no reason to fake that here. On another note, that was the first time Kid had addressed him with his real name. It felt nice to be respected again.

Why why _why _did Shinichi have to follow Vodka on that day in Tropical Land?

"Now," the thief's tone and expression took another one-eighty-degree turn toward his usual insanity, "I owe you revenge for the Clock Tower heist."

Kid might as well have announced that he was Shinichi's long-lost brother. He eyed the thief drily.

"Revenge? That heist was a _year_ ago."

"Yes, and this is my first opportunity."

"You've seen me plenty of times since then."

"Not like this."

"What difference does that make?"

"…"

"I didn't even stop you!"

"You still ruined some of my plans."

"You just called a truce!"

"I won't break any laws or do anything that would attract unwanted attention to this place."

Shinichi pinched the bridge of his nose against the oncoming headache. "…If I say yes, will you leave?"

"Of course!" Shinichi choose to ignore the hurt look on the thief's face.

"…Fine. What did you have in mind?" At least he knew it would be harmless. This was Kid, after all.

* * *

Kid's original plan for the night had been simply to officially introduce himself to Kudou while stealing a look at his true face, and then leave. Easily less than ten minutes.

But he hadn't anticipated the reaction he would have to Kudou. He had known that he felt strongly for the other eighteen-year-old, but Kudou's presence, in his natural state, how he _should_ _be_…only make Kid want to get closer.

So he'd quickly thought of an excuse (not the smartest thing he's come up with, but decent enough) to do something that Kudou would find completely illogical. He adopted his smarmy grin.

"Turn around."

Kudou rolled his eyes and obeyed. "Do you normally take 'revenge' on detectives like this?"

Kaito became nervous with anticipation all of a sudden, though he didn't let it show. "I do it to Hakuba all the time." Then, against his better judgement, he added, "But I don't go to his house, since I see him plenty during the day when he's in the country."

Kaito could practically hear the wheels turning in that brilliant mind. He took this chance to gather his courage and sidled the last few paces to Kudou, who was still facing away from him.

Kid let playfulness creep into his voice as he lifted his arms, "I propose a game of endurance," and brought them around Kudou's thin torso.

When his hands touched Kudou's chest, they didn't feel the lightly muscled plane that he expected. Instead, there were two decently-sized, squishy _lumps _on his upper chest.

Even he couldn't react in time to what happened.

_WHAM!_

Something hard (Kudou's elbow) hit him in the solar plexus, knocking the breath out of him and causing him to stagger back a few steps to keep from losing his balance. But before he could recover, a fist connected with his jaw, powerfully enough to make him actually fall backwards. Something hit the back of his head and the world went black.

* * *

The first sensation that Kaito processed whenever he woke up was touch: he was in a bed, one with a very comfortable mattress and plush comforter covering him. There was a strange pressure on his right index finger. His head felt tender, and it _hurt_.

The second sense was sight: he could tell through his closed eyelids that wherever he was had very bright lighting.

Thirdly was hearing: there was a steady _beep…beep…beep _to his right.

Once his eyes were adjusted to the light through his eyelids, he cracked one open just enough to see a blurry off-white ceiling.

It still hurt. He winced as he closed it again.

Conclusion: he was in the Emergency Room, probably with a concussion.

Which explained why he couldn't remember how he'd been hurt in the first place.

Someone must have heard him wince, because he heard a chair scraping on the floor from not too far away and to his left, rapidly approaching.

He felt breath on his hair as the person whispered, "Kid?...How do you feel?"

He'd been called _Kid_. In a _hospital_.

Kaito jerked his head up and his eyes open to check his clothes. He managed to see a blurry green shirt and brown slacks before the room spun and he head grew too heavy with pain and weakness to hold it up and keep his eyes open any longer.

"Who are you and how did I get here?" he whispered warily.

It took an extra moment to get an answer. "…You don't remember me or coming to my house earlier?" The voice sounded both worried and a little relieved.

"I haven't seen your face yet, and it probably won't help to look now since my vision's too blurry to make out anything definite, but I'll admit your voice is somewhat familiar, though I can't place it…What's your name?" He was careful not to reveal anything particular until he knew this person was on his side.

The stranger seemed reluctant to answer. "…Kudou Shinichi."

Kudou Shinichi, a.k.a. Edogawa Conan, a.k.a. Tantei-kun, a.k.a. the Detective who had come the closest to catching him. Ever.

"…Was there a heist and I completely forgot?" He chuckled sardonically. "Does this mean you finally caught me?" Yes, the voice matched up in his mind with the shrunken detective, though it seemed lower in pitch (but that was always hard to tell with whispering).

"…No, we called a temporary truce earlier, and anyway, it's my fault you're here."

Kaito cracked a ghost of his usual Kid-grin. "Well that's good; I'm not ready to retire just yet."

By now he had adjusted to his headache enough to brave cracking his eyes open again. It wasn't quite so painful this time, and the blurriness had decreased dramatically. His eyes met Shinichi's brilliantly blue ones and couldn't help but spare a few thoughts about how pretty they were, but Shinichi looked away after a few seconds. Kaito was about to ask saucily what the special occasion was that had Shinichi looking his age, but that's when the memories came flying back.

_His excitement at hearing via one of his doves' transmitters on their usual sweep of Ekoda and Beika that Tantei-kun would be 'away' for today (Tuesday), tomorrow and possibly Thursday._

_Coming to visit fully-grown Shinichi to officially introduce himself._

_Desperately scrapping together a reason to _get closer.

_Getting closer…and the events afterwards._

He shut his eyes again when his headache spiked.

"Okay, I'm confused. I understand that I do the weirdest things sometimes, but is your sense of personal space really that overblown? Why did you sock me just for _touching _you?"

There was no answer at first, so Kaito risked slitting an eye open just long enough to take in Shinichi's obviously immense discomfort. In fact, since he'd woken up a few minutes ago, Shinichi's usual confidence was completely absent. His voice was slow and soft, and not just because of its volume.

"…It's not that you touched me, it's…_where_ you..._touched_ me."

"So you have more fat than usual where girls tend to have other things. So what?" He was trying to not get too irritable; he knew the concussion was probably affecting his emotional stability.

He heard Shinichi give a pained sigh before whispering a reply. "…It's not what you think…It's…They _are_…_other things_."

Kaito's mind was devoid of thought for an entire few seconds.

…Was heinterpreting this correctly? Was Shinichi a _girl_? He couldn't think of any other logical conclusion of what the detective was saying.

And Kaito had touched him where he had…

"Oh my god Shinichi I am _so sorry _I didn't _know _about it and I-"

A hand smacked lightly against his mouth and his loud babbling ceased in surprise just as he heard the sound of more footsteps.

Kaito took this time to notice that he'd called _Kudou_ by his first name, had been thinking of him (her?) as such since he woke up. No doubt from the concussion.

Someone else entered the room, footsteps heavier than Shin-_Kudou's_. "How's he doing?"

"He's awake, just light-sensitive. I think his head stopped bleeding, too."

* * *

"Good, and I can turn off some lights for him." Shinichi watched as Kid's face relaxed somewhat as soon as the doctor (male, mid-forties, former boxer) hit off a light switch, reducing the small single-occupant room to semidarkness. The lack of harsh light made Kid's face less pale and the bruise colouring the left side of his jaw a little less stark against his skin.

It had been hard enough holding eye contact with the thief a few minutes ago when the patient only knew that he was hurt enough to be in the ER. Now that he remembered why he was there, and Shinichi had hinted at something he'd hidden from his own best friend for years, he turned as soon as Kid's eyes opened and the doctor addressed him for the first time.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not at my best, but I've had concussions before."

Shinichi took the chance to smooth his hair down again underneath his 'disguise', a blue-and-white ball cap, as he listened to their conversation.

"Yes, I was about to ask you about that. It's not common for anyone, much less someone as young as you, to lose consciousness for half an hour with a mild seizure at the beginning."

"Yeah, I fell pretty rough."

"Your friend Tanaka-san here tried to tell me that too, but I know a right hook when I see one. I used to box in college."

Shinichi cringed inwardly at the memory: Kaitou Kid in full regalia, on the floor in Shinichi's bedroom, head bleeding, convulsing in front of him. It had lasted less than ten seconds, but seeing the proud, illustrious magician prone and defenceless like that, _because of Shinichi_, stabbed his heart with guilt and did other unpleasant things to his gut.

Shinichi had been surprisingly fast about getting Kid out of his suit (at first he'd tried to not study the other's face, but it proved to be impractical and almost impossible) and into some of Shinichi's clothes; he was worried enough that such sensitivities didn't matter so much. While he knew how to care for concussions in general, he'd never dealt with one severe enough to cause a seizure and more than ten minutes of unconsciousness. His next thought had been to go to Haibara and Agasa next door, but that would lead to too many questions about the sudden stranger than knew Shinichi's identity as Conan. Not having a car and not wanting to risk anything by calling public transportation to his house, he'd been left with no choice but to carry Kid a few blocks and call an ambulance from there. The paramedics had even let him ride with them since he would have otherwise had to walk or find a taxi (not many were out this late away from the main city). They had arrived about ten minutes ago.

Eventually his thoughts drifted back toward the present conversation. The doctor was speaking again.

"How old were you when you had your first concussion?"

Kid's face turned blank but his voice became solemn. "…Six."

"Six? My goodness, what happened?"

"…I was in a theatre, front row; a bomb went off on the stage."

Shinichi's chair scraped the floor as he abruptly stood. He wasn't going to make Kid choose between revealing secrets to him and coming across suspiciously to the doctor. "I'll be right back."

Before he could move any further, Kid's hand shot out and grabbed his long shirt-sleeve like a steel trap, though he still faced the physician.

"My father was on stage; he died instantly."

Shinichi gave a meaningful tug on his sleeve. He didn't want to hear Kid's life story; he was legally obligated to tell the police what he knew, damn it!

Kid ignored him. The doctor, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortable at where the topic had gone. He gave a quizzical look at Kid's hand on Shinichi's sleeve, and then seemed to decide it was none of his business. "I'm sorry. I'm also sorry that I got so far off track; I find your case interesting."

He brought out a pad of paper. "I'm going to need your name and date of birth, and your insurance information or the name of whomever you're under in that regard."

No, NO. This was NOT happening. Kid was NOT about to give him his _name__!_ Shinichi tugged more insistently (and a little desperately) on his sleeve, but Kid didn't let go.

"My name is Kuroba Kaito from Ekoda, born June twenty-first…"

Shinichi's inner twenty-four-seven detective gleefully burnt all the juicy details into Shinichi's memory, and the rest of him wished he had just ripped his sleeve out of Kid's grip (_Kid, _not…that other name he was trying to forget) by the time it was over. (Why did he have to add in his district!?)

"May I go now, doctor? Tanaka-san can help me get home."

Oh, _that _waswhy.

"Kuroba-san, it's almost 3 AM, Ekoda is a good few train rides away, and you have a concussion." The physician turned to face Shinichi. "Tanaka-san, I would recommend he stay with you for the night if you live closer."

And all Shinichi had wanted these few days were _peace _and_ quiet_, but such things were impossible when one was acquainted with a certain insane thief_._

* * *

The thief and detective had left the hospital ten minutes ago, hands in pockets, and were about halfway back to Kudou's house. Neither had spoken a word during that time.

Kaito had been trying to think of a good way to break the ice, but he'd never been in this kind of situation before and frankly had no idea what to say. Was Kudou angry at him? Afraid now that his big secret (bigger than Edogawa, possibly) was discovered?

So Kaito began with himself. "…Thank you for not telling who I was."

Kudou snorted derisively without breaking his stride. "You really think I'd kick you while you're down?" he muttered, "We called truce earlier." He sounded like he was holding back most of his emotions.

Kaito winced. "That's not what I meant." He wasn't sure how to explain, so he let it drop. "Would you have done otherwise without the truce?"

Kudou hesitated, and continued to stare at the ground. "...Probably not. My conscience is mostly screwed up after lying all the time for so long. And that's just the beginning."

Kaito knew now that Kudou wasn't just talking about being Edogawa. He swallowed and took this opportunity to study his lane of sidewalk.

"I cannot use enough words to describe how sorry I am for earlier."

Nothing else was said for another minute or two, which let Kaito's mind wander back to better examine his new discovery. Besides the presence of...well..._breasts_, Kudou seemed like a regular guy. His voice was certainly low enough, and his forehead was the normal size for a guy (which would be abnormally large on a girl).

Finally, Kudou responded. "There was no way you could have known."

"I still want to make it up, if possible."

"I put you in the ER. You don't owe me anything." The way he said it made it sound like the idea of anyone owing Kudou was absurd.

Kaito, by now, was having difficulty reconciling the Kudou Shinichi that possessed a fire under him when it came to catching criminals and getting in Kid's way with what he observed now: this Kudou was docile in comparison, fire snuffed out.

"Then I want to understand…Are you…a girl?"

At first, Kaito was afraid that Kudou would explode again, but nothing of the sort happened. In fact, he cringed (the only outer sign was Kudou's eyes narrowing for a split-second), and it seemed like the detective mentally shut himself in even more. He snorted again, more aggressively this time.

"If only it were that simple."

"What do you mean?"

Kudou stopped. They had arrived at his front gate. He didn't say anything more until the gate was locked and they were inside, putting their shoes away. Kudou didn't bother to turn any lights on besides what was necessary to take the room from darkness to semidarkness. "I'm going to prepare a guest room. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen."

"May I help?" Normally it rude to ask, but Kaito felt bad enough already about using up so much of Kudou's time as himself.

"You're the guest; I can do it myself," Kudou snapped, and then he went upstairs. Kaito didn't press it, but instead went to get two glasses of water from the kitchen, following suit of using the bare minimum of lighting, and sat at the table to wait, contemplating the heap of trouble he had caused (and not the kind of trouble he liked causing).

It ate at him to see Kudou acting this way; it made him feel like he didn't really know the other teen.

Then again, he probably _didn't_. Kudou had been living a lie even before Edogawa Conan came to town. Kaito thought he had gotten through the wall when he discovered the truth behind the genius elementary schooler, but here was yet another side to the detective, one much more sensitive.

He was brought back when Kudou stepped into the kitchen, not looking at him, going straight to the cupboard where Kaito had discovered cups and glasses minutes before.

"Here, I got one for you." He slid the as yet unclaimed glass to the centre of the table.

Kudou contemplated it for a moment, then returned the empty cup he was still holding, then joined Kaito, sitting across from him and sliding the glass to accompany him. "Thank you."

Kaito waited patiently while Kudou took a long drink. Technically, it was Kudou's turn to speak, but Kaito didn't want to make him even more uncomfortable. "You don't have to explain anything if you don't want to."

When Kudou set down his cup, he continued to hold it in both hands as he started to rotate the base and studied the motion with his eyes.

Kaito's eyes couldn't help but wander to Kudou's chest to verify what he had gleaned out of the corner of his eye: it was flat, as the world expected it to be.

His gaze shot back to Kudou's face when he took a few deep breaths and began.

"When I was born, I…My parents weren't sure what to do with me. I'm genetically male, but…" He took a few steadying breaths, eyes squeezed shut. "I actually much closer to being female. But I was raised a boy because the brain scans said I responded more like one."

Kudou looked so in pain that Kaito wanted to hug him. Instead of pushing his luck though, he said quietly, "Thank you," and slowly, gently, placed his hand on Kudou's to give a reassuring squeeze. As soon as Kaito's fingers brushed the other's, however, Kudou bolted out of his chair, letting go of the glass just in time so it didn't come with him. He murmured a quick good night, told Kaito which room was his, and was gone.

Kaito didn't sleep much that night.


	2. Chapter 2

Even though, finally, that horrible day was gone forever, its aftereffects would remain, perhaps for years.

When Shinichi rose the next morning to find Kid already gone, with the guest bed made as if he'd never been there, he couldn't say he was too surprised. He was glad he'd thought to put Kid's suit in that room, so Kid wouldn't have to see him if he didn't want to. And Shinichi didn't blame him.

He had probably scared the thief/rival, since he hadn't even know Shinichi could act like that: neurotic, with none of the confidence or self-certainty that was quintessential of his public figure, and even that of Conan. When Kid had first arrived last night, his acting skills had already been pretty much shot because of events earlier in the day, and he had stopped caring by the time they'd left the hospital.

Shinichi officially had until about noon tomorrow in his own body, though it would most likely be substantially less after all the excitement he'd had. All he wanted to do at this point was sleep, as his mind had been racing all night, stewing about the loss of a best friend and the probable loss of potential friendship with someone else he highly respected.

So that's what he did: he slept a good chunk of the afternoon away, then drowned his depression in Sherlock Holmes

* * *

Kaito was doing research.

At around six o'clock that morning, he'd given up on trying to sleep and left, thankful that he didn't have to look Kudou in the eye again. He had wanted to help in some way, but had no idea how; besides, it looked like the detective didn't want to see him anyway, after Kaito had basically molested him.

So here he was, at the computer in Kaitou Kid's base, looking up abnormal gender topics on the internet (he could have used the computer in his room, but this was something high school student Kuroba Kaito had no business researching without answering curious questions). School started in an hour, but he had a note from the doctor last night that let him miss school for the next two weeks as long as his concussion symptoms continued; he was supposed to be taking off for physical and cognitive rest, but this was too important to wait.

The results:

One: Kudou was what was called 'intersexual', ie: born with ambiguous sex because of the presence of organs exclusive to men as well as those of women.

Two: Most children born intersex underwent surgery to make them look normal, but this often led to complications, sometimes permanent. Presumably, Kudou was one of the exceptions to forgo this.

There was still a heavy fog around his mind, so that was as far as he got when he heard his front door open in the main part of the house, then: "Kaito! We're gonna be late! Get out here RIGHT NOW!"

Oh, _boy. _Nakamori Aoko: one of the other people he felt guilty about.

Kaito jumped out of his chair too fast, not bothering to turn off the computer, and his vision blacked for a second and he almost lost his balance until he could see again. His headache from a few hours prior resurfaced.

Did he mention that he hated concussions?

"Kaito! Where are you?!" He heard her stomping up the stairs.

Not good. Not good at all.

Kaito wobbled to the other side of the large room as fast as he could in his disorientation, to the double-sided framed picture that separated it from his bedroom.

If Aoko got to his room before he could close the entrance...it would be the end for him.

Perhaps that was how Kudou felt last night about his own secret.

Thankfully, he managed to get to his room and make it look normal again (thank god Aoko stomped slowly for dramatic effect when she was angry but not chasing him) just in time for her to slam his door open. Fortunately, his face was half-turned away from her so she didn't noticed the two-inch bruise on his left jaw that he had yet to conceal with make-up.)

"Kaito, you're a mess! Hurry up and get dressed!"

Kaito remembered offhandedly was still wearing Kudou's clothes from earlier. He did his best to appear exhausted (which was really easy at the moment). "I'm staying home 'Oko. I hit my head last night and got a concussion." The slightly slurred speech was unintentional. Sleep was more important than ever with head injuries.

"Hmph. As if I'd believe that for even a second!"

Kaito rolled his eyes. "Look, I even have a doctor's note from the Emergency Room this morning." He walked carefully to his desk where he'd dumped said note earlier and handed it to her without turning around. She snatched it out of his hand. He took that minute of silence to fall on his bed, face in the pillow to block the light.

As Aoko read the doctor's scrawl that excused him from class, Kaito could almost hear her expression change from annoyance to concern. "Kaito, it says you had a seizure, too! Are you alright?"

He angled his head down so the pillow no longer covered his mouth. "I just need to sleep."

"Okay, some tea will help."

"Yes I know, Aoko."

"...Kaito?...Why won't you face me?"

"I just need to be alone, Aoko."

There was a pregnant silence for a few seconds.

"…BaKaito! I'm just trying to help!... You'd make me late, anyway!" With that, she stomped out again, slamming the door behind her. The noise only exacerbated his headache. Kaito listened to her go until he heard his front door slam as well.

He was irritable again: from the concussion, being interrupted in the middle of something important, and almost getting caught by the person who hated Kaitou Kid's guts more than anyone else he knew.

Except maybe Kudou, now.

…A cup of tea did sound good.

With a groan, he got up and went to the kitchen to make the hot beverage.

Ten minutes later, Kaito settled into his bed, nursing a traditional mug of steaming oolong tea.

Things had changed dramatically between him and Aoko in the past year-and-a-half. They were well into their third year now, graduating next spring. His first heist had been as an innocent, immature kid (no pun intended) who thought that he could always get things to go his way if he tried hard enough. He hadn't wanted a criminal career; the original plan had been to lure his father's murderers into the open arms of the police, and then forget all about it as he made his way as a top magician. He'd heard about Pandora soon enough, but that didn't bog him down; he figured he could find if it existed, destroy it, and continue on with his life in the same manner.

What he didn't expect was that he would come to enjoy his illegal activities, so much so that he didn't think he could give it up, even for Aoko.

He'd liked her, thought he loved her, but how could that be true if he wasn't even willing to give this up to be with her?

Soon after this startling revelation, the slow death of his romantic affection toward the girl was palpable. It felt like his mind had been desperately clutching to it for a while, forcing it, but the realization that his mission was more important melted it to liquid that fell right through his heart's grasping fingers.

As he came to accept this change in his life, it gradually became obvious how strongly Aoko had returned his feelings, and still did. Now that he knew there could be nothing more down that road, he'd done his best to slowly drive a wedge between them, to wean her off him so she could move on as well. He planned to fix their friendship soon after she lost interest in him.

Sometimes, she seemed to realize what he was doing, though she couldn't possibly know why. When he would uncharacteristically snap at her, or say something he knew would hurt her a little, she would look at him with a confused and forlorn expression.

Meanwhile, his interests had perked up again…elsewhere.

This new experience was…interesting, to say the least. He'd realized it only a few months ago, soon after he'd finished moving on from Aoko.

He'd fallen for Kudou Shinichi, detective.

Why did he, an international criminal, have to have a fetish for people related to law enforcement?

Then a new thought hit him: Since Kudou is developmentally both a woman and a man to an extent, he was probably putting out both types of pheromones as well (it was weird thinking about this, but still). Was Kaito attracted only to Kudou's female essence, making him straight after all?

Either way, he had once felt something for Aoko, and he knew he felt strongly for the detective now, though he wasn't sure he was ready to call it 'love' just yet.

But he was just a teenager, what would he know about what real love felt like, anyway?

Speaking of Kudou, and last night…was it cowardly of him to bolt that morning without so much as thanking the detective for his hospitality? He hadn't even left a note. At the time, he'd wanted to give Kudou the space he undoubtedly wanted, but it was still rude…

If he wanted to stay on Kudou's good side, he'd have to go back.

He did want to see the detective again anyway, before Edogawa 'returned'.

With that, he chugged the rest of his tea (now lukewarm).

Sleep first. More internet later. He wanted to be coherent when he went back to face Kudou.

* * *

It was about nine o'clock at night. Shinichi had reread _A Study in Scarlet_ and _The Sign of the Four _and was almost halfway through _The Hound of the Baskervilles_ when the bell at his gate rang.

He sincerely wished it was just a package delivery or some other thing that didn't force him to engage in conversation, but his logical side pointed out several problems with that theory: he hadn't ordered anything, no one lived here officially, and no one would be making deliveries at this hour anyway.

One could still hope, though.

He held down the talk button on the intercom, spoke, then released it. "Hello?"

"…Sorry to disturb you, Kudou-san, but may I come in?"

Kid was back: one of the last people Shinichi wanted to see.

He closed his eyes and took a calming breath. "What do you want?"

He hadn't meant to sound like a jerk, but part of him (a very small part of him) felt oddly smug when Kid hesitated to answer. He mentally slapped himself for that.

"…I'd like to thank you for your hospitality last night. And I have your clothes."

Okay, so Kid was keeping it at surface level. Thank god.

"You're welcome. Put the clothes inside the gate; I'll get them later...Good night."

"Wait!"

Shinichi sighed. He just wanted to spend the rest of his time in his own house, _alone_. "…What?" he asked drily.

"…I'd like to tell you about myself."

Not again.

With what he already knew about the person behind Kid, he felt bad enough as it was for flat out refusing to turn the thief in. From last night onwards, every moment Shinichi kept Kid's true name to himself was equivalent to aiding and abetting.

Kid must have sensed his discomfort, since he spoke again. "Think of it as an equivalent exchange of secrets."

So Kid still thought he owed Shinichi.

"You already gave me enough last night to get you convicted."

"I'd rather continue this inside, if that's alright, Kudou-san."

Shinichi knew he would regret this as he trudged up to his room to get a robe for himself, even though it would look out of place on this clear Septembre night. He was only going to his front gate and he didn't feel like putting on the disguise he used to flatten his chest when he went out in public. Of course he was still immensely self-conscious about showing his real shape in front of Kid, but wrapping up his chest would be painful, since his body was sensitive from growing from a preadolescent into a teenager in the span of ten minutes yesterday morning.

Besides, the damage was already done: Kid knew. Why put in the extra effort for him now?

Keeping his arms crossed as much as possible, he went out and opened the gate for Kid without saying a word until they were both inside again. Kid, as Shinichi liked to think of it, was currently disguised as one Kuroba Kaito, another high school that Shinichi had heard of in passing, but had never met.

"You have six minutes to convince me that I should listen to your life story or whatever it is you want to tell me. Go."


	3. Chapter 3

Kaito internally cringed at Kudou's aggressive tone. He had been expecting such a reaction from the detective. He looked him straight in the eye and spoke softly but earnestly, as if trying to keep an irritated lion from lashing out. "I understand what it's like to have secrets that will crumble your world if discovered. You haven't turned me in, and I'm grateful for that.

"Last night made me realize how much I don't actually know you. I'll leave you alone if you don't want that to change, but I thought that talking about myself first would help me prove that I really don't have a problem with what I've come to learn about you.

"Furthermore, and this is something I've been considering for a while anyway, I have a proposal for you: I'm good at eavesdropping and getting into places no one wants me to, you have a more-than-friendly relationship with the boys in blue. I scratch your back, you scratch mine, and we both benefit, and accomplishing this would be much more stress-free if you knew more about me."

Kaito had spent a long time weighing the idea of an alliance. He was sure they could help each other out; the most decisive factor was how inclined Kudou was to handing him over to the police. Fortunately, that issue was now almost a moot point.

Whatever Kudou had been expecting to hear, apparently it hadn't been that. He was silent for a few minutes, staring at Kaito with an unreadable expression in his deep blue eyes and his arms crossed, though the magician knew his words were being pondered in that amazing brain.

Kaito took this time to notice out of his peripheral vision that, despite the robe he was wearing, the currently-teenage detective was sporting what had started this whole thing. He didn't dare look at them directly, though, not with Kudou looking right at him.

He was surprised and oddly pleased that he found Kudou more attractive this way.

Finally, Kudou sighed with a frown. "Oh alright. But there's still a chance I might report you if you piss me off." The way he said it, however, sounded like even he didn't believe it.

Kaito grinned, though it wasn't a full enough Kid grin to be insincere. "Note to self: don't piss Kudou-san off."

* * *

Despite going against his better judgment, Shinichi decided later that he didn't regret letting Kid say what he wanted. He already knew that Kid wasn't a bad person, and after hearing about his murdered father and his mission, he was put mostly at ease. Besides, the thief seemed relieved to talk about it, and it felt good to do something for the other young man.

Although, Shinichi was sceptical about a magical gem that granted immortality.

"If the legend is as old as you say, then this gem could just as easily be a mineral that was rare a long time ago that makes your skin healthier and younger-looking when ingested."

"Ah, but Tantei-kun, what you don't know is that magic really does exists. There's a tried-and-true witch attending Ekoda High. She actually trapped me inside a pentagram once!"

Of course this led to another discussion about whether magic was possible or not. Kuroba (Shinichi allowed himself the use of that name now that he actually had met the highschool student) ended it by telling him that he needed to see this witch for himself sometime.

At least the group after Kaitou Kid was not the Black Organisation. For one, these people wore brown, not black, their codenames were animals instead of alcoholic drinks, and they appeared all-around less skilled, based on what Kuroba had told him of his encounters with them.

They moved on to the alliance proposal. With the information he now possessed on Kid's enemies, Shinichi could definitely see why Kuroba thought this was a good idea. The escape artist would pass along any intelligence he gathered, while Shinichi could alert his own law enforcement contacts of Gunter Von Goldberg II's night job and go from there.

When Shinichi officially agreed, Kuroba sprang from his armchair. "Alright!" he exclaimed, "This is gonna be awesome! We're gonna kick so much trench-coat-ass!"

Shinichi couldn't help being a little infected with Kuroba's excitement. He was (pleasantly) surprised when Kuroba insisted Shinichi call him 'Kuroba-kun' or even 'Kaito-kun'. Shinichi accepted the former, and of course offered the same courtesy, allowing 'Kudou-kun'.

And he found a small-but-growing part of himself immesurably glad that he could sit here in his pyjamas and robe with company over, without any uncomfortable disguises or lies to worry about. Of course, Shinichi still felt extremely self-conscious in doing so, but Kuroba was the first person to find out the truth and be so…_okay_ with it since he was a baby. Haibara hadn't fussed, but she had only looked at it through a medical lens…Kuroba-kun, somehow, made Shinichi feel _normal_.

It was a good feeling, one that he hadn't felt much since he was ten or eleven years old.

The master magician was still doing random little magic tricks in his display of energy when Shinichi felt his heartbeat reverberate through his body. A cry of pain forced itself from his throat, and his hand flew to his chest as he doubled over.

The transformation was starting already?

Kuroba teleported to his side. "Kudou-kun? What's wrong?"

Just then his heart throbbed again. "Kuroba," he forced through gritted teeth, "Get ready to officially meet Conan." He cried out again as the pain briefly spiked.

Kuroba looked shocked at what was happening, but just for a moment. Then he came back, expression all business. He quickly-but-gently placed Shinichi's arm around him. "Let's get you to bed."

Shinichi tried to get up, but by now it was too painful, even with the help. He yelled wordlessly and pulled back, letting himself fall back into the chair he'd been occupying.

Strange, it normally didn't progress this quickly.

After a pause, Kuroba seemed to make a decision and murmured, "Please forgive me." Shinichi wondered what he meant until he felt himself being lifted up by a surprisingly strong pair of arms. Kuroba adjusted until he was carrying Shinichi bridal-style, and while the tantei almost thrashed out involuntarily at being touched so non-casually, he managed to stop himself before he caused more pain to his body, instead lifting his hand to cover Kuroba's to show he was okay with his actions (after all, it wasn't like he was being touched anywhere intimate this time).

Kuroba carried him up the stairs and into the first bedroom from the landing, Shinichi's own room. He soon felt old and familiar sheets beneath him, and all he could do was lie there and breathe deeply to keep some of the hot agony at bay while Kuroba looked at him with both worry and uncharacteristic indecisiveness.

Dammit, he was too _hot!_

Mind partly addled by fever, he wrestled out of his robe and pushed up the sleeves of his pyjama shirt. He knew in the back of his mind that since he wasn't wearing anything else underneath his mint-green pyjamas, he might have considered himself dressed semi-indecently now; it was the same as a post-pubescent girl not wearing a bra (yes, he _was _able to think that word without batting an eye), so he placed his robe across his bust to keep himself covered.

* * *

Kaito inwardly breathed a sigh of relief when it was apparent that Kudou was only removing his robe. He went to the bathroom to wet a washcloth for Kudou, and found him already unconscious upon his return. He placed the cloth on Kudou's feverish forehead anyway.

While he'd been carrying Kudou earlier, Kaito had detected the presence of feminine curves, a certain invisible softness to his skin, and noticeably wider waist and hips, though none of these were as prominent as on a woman.

His…_breasts_, however, were the size of the average woman's, and now they rose and fell with Kudou's haggard breathing. With the baggy pyjama shirt's front now settled almost completely against Kudou's frame due to gravity, he found it hard not to stare, especially when Kudou seemed to change his mind and throw the robe to the floor. Kaito went crimson when he realized that he could see the outline of Kudou's firm nipples–

The hormonal teenager jerked himself around to face the other way, taking deep breaths so he could get his bearings again.

The prosess was artificially completed when Kudou full-on screamed. Kaito went back to him to turn the cloth over. He was determined this time to only look at Kudou's face out of respect and common decency, but his eyes were drawn to the detective's extremities when they abruptly began to change size, accompanied by a foul-smelling steam.

The actual shrinking only took a few minutes. Kaito thought he would be sick.

He had imagined that everything shrank at the same time a rate. He was wrong.

Whatever internal process that was shrinking Kudou seemed to alternate back and forth between different bodily systems. The arm would shrink a little, then the head, then the chest, then the other arm, then each foot. Internal organs and skin carried on in the same progression. The process repeated a dozen times or so, quickly enough that each step lasted only a few seconds.

But the detective wasn't only decreasing in size, it looked like he was actually turning prepubescent. His chest gradually flattened out until it looked perfectly normal for a boy. The general shape of the rest of his body changed until the curves were gone and it no longer seemed at all womanlike.

When it looked like Kudou was past the worst of it and wouldn't scream anymore, Kaito left him to open the one window for fresh air, the same one that had let Kaito in only last night. His nausea died down somewhat after a few minutes, but then Kudou's shivering worsened in the cooler night air.

Kaito spent the next ten minutes running around the bedrooms, searching for and procuring more blankets for his patient, but they didn't help as much as he'd have liked.

When he had put as many blankets on the apparent elementary school student as their weight allowed and the small form's face was still scrunched up, Kaito muttered, "To hell with it."

He then took the topmost blanket and wrapped Kudou in it under the others (the only other thing covering him was his adult-sized pyjama top), but leaving his arms free. With the utmost care, Kaito got in the small twin-sized bed, pulled the covers over both of them, and literally curled up around Kudou like a cat.

It only occurred to Kaito just then that he should have gone to Professor Agasa's house to inform the scientist and his charge that their next-door neighbour was regressing in age. But it was over now; getting them wouldn't help at this point. Besides, it appeared that the presence of another warm body had done some good, since Kudou's shivering had decreased dramatically.

Not to mention that Kaito now had an excuse to cuddle with him.

Positive that Kudou wouldn't be waking anytime soon, Kaito took this opportunity to simply enjoy close in proximity to the other boy. The smell had mostly gone by now, so his stomach was okay enough. He carefully smoothed the other's hair back until it was as close to normal as it could get at the moment, and, after some hesitation, kissed it gently, then put the not-child's head under his chin.

The thief was so warm and comfortable embracing his romantic interest that it didn't take long for him to fall asleep as well.


	4. Chapter 4

Shinichi was…_warm_. Not in an uncomfortable way, either. And there was a strange smell. Not at all bad, just unfamiliar.

He remembered that Kuroba had put him in his bed before he shrank. That was…nice of him.

He felt a warm current of air blowing through his hair. Was the window open? But the air was unseasonably warm. He opened his eyes to check.

"OH my god!" he tried to move backwards to get away from the adult-sized torso in front of his face, but he flopped over when something wrapped around him restricted his movements. At the same time, Kuroba bolted upright with a wordless yelp at being awakened so quickly.

Once they had recovered, Shinichi glared incredulously. "What are you doing?"

Kuroba looked down, poking his index fingers together nervously even as his words came out in a jumbled fashion. "I, uh…you had a fever and you were still shivering after I put a ton of blankets on you…It seemed to help…"

Shinichi swallowed awkwardly and put his attention on his blanket cocoon as he fingered the edge. "Uh…thanks, I guess…" Only then did he notice that there in fact was a blanket around him and investigated. He pulled the innermost edge up and looked through to discover that, besides the blanket and his now-too-large pyjama shirt from last night, he was completely naked (he could feel his pants and underwear further down in the bed). He flushed in embarrassment. "Can you wait outside until I find some clothes?"

Kuroba seemed to have forgotten that problem. "Oh, y-yeah," he stuttered, a blush of his own coming on. "Sure." With that, he hurried out of the room and closed the door behind him.

The first thing Shinichi did was lock the door. Not because he thought Kuroba might peek (not like a lock would stop him anyway); it was a deeply ingrained habit to lock his door whenever he changed clothes or did anything else remotely private like that (and besides, why have a lock if he wasn't going to use it?).

Thankfully, he had begun keeping some of his smaller clothes in his room awhile back, so it wasn't a problem to procure a shirt, pair of pants, underwear and socks that fit him in his shrunken state. He flopped back on his bed again, needing another minute to himself, and closed his eyes.

* * *

Shinichi could tell that he wasn't on his bed anymore. The cushions beneath him felt more like those of a couch, and he could hear a TV quietly playing the news. He didn't have a television in his room.

He opened his eyes to find himself on the office couch of one Mouri Kogoro.

He must have fallen asleep again at his house, and Kuroba-kun had brought him back here.

He heard someone light moving about the kitchen and summoned his Edogawa Conan façade. "Ran-neechan?"

Soon his childhood friend appeared at his side. "Conan-kun, you're awake!" She sounded cheerful enough, but her face said otherwise. She handed him his glasses, which he donned hurriedly. The young woman looked like she hadn't slept much in the past few days. Shinichi didn't have to guess why.

Being the concerned-little-brother figure that he appeared to be, he sat up and looked at her with worry. "What's wrong, Ran-neechan? You don't look so well."

She smiled quietly. "It's nothing you need to worry about, Conan-kun."

Shinichi added mild hurt to his current mask. "It's always better to talk about things that bother you."

Over the year or so since the Mouris unofficially adopted him, Ran had grown about as close to Conan as a little kid and a teenager could. According to her, the two told each other almost everything.

His cute, childish worry must have worked, because after a moment, Ran joined him on the couch and put her face in her hands. "It's about Shinichi…Do you remember what I told you, about him, when you and I first met?"

How could he forget? She'd _confessed_ to him. He nodded.

"Well, I never told you this, but when we went to London and solved that bomber case, I…ran into him there."

Shinichi sighed inwardly at the memory. "Oh? What did he say?"

"He said…that he liked me."

Shinichi pretended to hesitate in confusion. "…Isn't that a good thing?"

She gave the faintest smile that lasted for a second. "It was at the time, but…I saw him again, right after you left on Tuesday."

He hated seeing her like this, hated himself for indirectly being its cause. She had none of her usual spirit in her. "And…?"

She closed her eyes forcefully, as if holding back tears. "He told me something, something important about himself, something I wish he had told me a long time ago. I'm sorry, I can't tell you what it is, but…it means that I can't…_be_ with him. And now...I don't know what to do."

Now his lack of response was real. He turned to study his feet before he could say something compromising.

He wanted to ask, 'can't, or afraid to?', but knew it wouldn't help. She didn't need to feel guilty on top of crushed.

This was why he hadn't told her sooner. While many knew about her discomfort with the idea of scary supernatural and paranormal beings, it wasn't limited to just those. Ran had always had a hard time with Strange Things in Nature as well. And that's what Shinichi was: a freak of nature.

Aware that not answering for too long would be suspicious, he did what a child would do and hugged her middle, pushing down his hurt and mild anger for later. She hugged him back and cried.

"Is…Did Shinichi-niichan tell you that?"

"No, but…it would never work."

"I'm sure he had a good reason for not saying anything before."

"But we were best friends! And now I feel like…I haven't really known him since he came back to Japan."

The Kudous had moved to Hawaii when Shinichi was eleven years old, but he returned to the house in Beika at fourteen, just in time to start high school at Teitan High. Soon after, his parents moved to New York.

The detective and the detective's daughter sat like that for a good half-hour, until Ran's tears stopped. She seemed to sense that Conan-kun had nothing else he could say on the matter, so she finally changed the subject. "Oh," she looked at him with a more genuine smile. "I met your friend, Kuroba-kun."

Unsure of where Ran was going with this, he asked, "What did you think of him?"

"He's really nice. And he was the one I saw on the day of the first Kaitou Kid heist we went to, and then again the day after, when I thought I saw...Shinichi. You see, I asked him if he had a friend that looked a lot like me, and he said yes and that he could introduce me sometime."

Shinichi felt like he had no bearings on the conversation. "…Okay. Cool." He forced a small smile.

She looked at him with a querying expression. "When did you meet him? You never mentioned him before, and you obviously know him well if he took you on a camping trip, just the two of you."

Shinichi had been wondering what excuse Kuroba-kun had come up with to make his arrival bearing a sleeping Conan-kun appropriate. And Shinichi did go on a lot of camping trips with Agasa and the Detective Boys.

"Oh, I guess I never thought about it. Sorry…" Ran seemed to take the lie easily enough; Conan-kun was known to get side-tracked about things like that sometimes.

The lie felt natural and mostly-guiltless as it left his mouth, much easier to say compared to a year ago.

The young woman perked up a little more when another thought came to her. "Oh yeah, I went to one of his father's magic shows when I was little, too."

Shinichi had almost forgotten about that time. Ran had wanted him to come, but he'd said he had no interest in magicians and preferred to go with his father to a crime scene. Now he perked up at the 'news', since he had a vested interest in the magician family. "What was he like?"

Ran smiled with fondness. "It was amazing! He looked at you and spoke as if he was putting on the whole thing just for you. His tricks were really complicated, and he was so confident and calm, even when the audience was afraid for his safety…It was a shame he died in a stage accident."

Shinichi found himself fervently wishing he had gone with her that day.

His musings were interrupted when the door opened to reveal Amuro Tooru in his Poirot Café uniform, carrying a plate of tiny sandwiches and drinks. Shinichi's stomach rumbled at the smell of food.

The blonde smiled at the pair on the couch. "Well, well, the young detective is awake. That must have been a fun camping trip." He set the tray down on the coffee table in front of them. "I made lunch; my treat."

But when he saw Ran's puffy, tear-stained face, he sat next to her, on the opposite side of Shinichi, and offered her a handkerchief. "What's wrong, Ran-san?"

Ran accepted his offer with a sad smile. "You don't need to worry about me. I'll be alright." When she leaned down to wipe her face, Amuro eyed Shinichi pointedly, and Shinichi couldn't help but smile just a little smugly when he sensed jealousy in the other detective.

Shinichi still didn't know what to make of Oji-san's first and only apprentice. He was obviously sharp, which made him a potential threat to Shinichi's cover. He often put on a façade of humility and amateurish ability in the presence of the Mouris; but when he was in detective mode, even Ran could tell that he was a better detective than his sensei. Why was he still hanging around?

Another thing was his obvious attention towards Ran. He was over ten years older than her, which automatically made Shinichi wary. It didn't help that the teenage detective hadn't yet figured out the other man's motive for being here.

…Unless it _was_ Ran herself?

* * *

Never had Shinichi been so tempted to call his parents and accept their year-old offer to live with them again as he was over the next week. Ran's depression was palpable as it settled over the whole apartment, casting all its residents into a melancholic gloom: she never hummed as she worked in the kitchen, she never went out with Sonoko anymore, and she spent most of her free time around the apartment, sometimes in a daze.

From day to day, she would walk him to school and he would try to talk about something inconsequential, just to get her to come out a bit, and when he came home, sometimes late at night after solving a case, announcing his presence as he always did, she would answer in exhausted tones. Whenever Shinichi could stomach it, he would hug her tightly and let her cry on him, though these sessions never lasted as long as the first. Sometimes his friends in second grade would visit and try to cheer her up and get her out of the flat, even Haibara, to his surprise.

Amuro-san and Sera Masumi frequently offered comfort as well, and on some days, usually when Shinichi got home later than usual because of a case, he would find his childhood friend crying on a shoulder other than his own.

Apparently the Sleeping Kogoro didn't know the exact problem, either; just that it involved 'that bratty detective with a lucky streak'. Sometimes, when Ran was well out of earshot, Shinichi would overhear the man mutter, "If I ever see that bastard again…"

That brought a strange notion to Shinichi's mind: Even if he ever did find a cure for himself, there was a very good chance that Kudou Shinichi never would enter that apartment again. Once Ran got past this (he knew she would; she was strong), even if she eventually forgave him and they went back to better terms, they probably would never be as close again. He felt a part of himself die whenever he thought about it. Each time, it would hurt just a little less, replaced by bitterness (more at his crappy life in general than at Ran herself).

Fortunately, during this time, he managed to set up a meeting with Jodie Starling, aka Jodie Santemillion, officially a former English teacher on extended vacation, unofficially an FBI agent on assignment in Japan.

Shinichi had told Ran on the way to school that morning that he would be hanging out at Agasa-hakase's afterward. It was technically true, since that was the safest place for this meeting.

"So, what news do you have? Is it about Bourbon?" the American woman asked that afternoon, dropping her purposely-bad Japanese once they were inside (Haibara went back to her lab in the basement once she heard it wasn't about the Black Organisation, but Agasa-hakase had joined them out of curiosity).

It felt so good to have something to do again besides kid homework and dime-a-dozen murders. "No, this isn't actually about the Black Organisation, but I thought other law-enforcement people you could contact might be interested in hearing this, if they don't know already."

"Oh? And what's that, Cool Kid?"

"I've indirectly discovered another large criminal organization operating in Japan and Europe."

With a jolt, Shinichi felt himself being jerked along by the wrist by his next-door-neighbour to the far side of the large sitting room.

"Did you do something rash again, Shinichi-kun?" the professor whispered angrily.

"Hakase, they're not after me; they're after my source," the boy answered in annoyance.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Hakase…"

Satisfied, Agasa let go. As they returned to sit with the FBI agent, Shinichi spoke loud enough for her to hear. "It's okay, Hakase, you don't need to worry about me." Jodie-sensei ignored the exchange. "Do you know what they're after?"

"A gem called Pandora. According to an old legend, it's hidden inside a larger gem, it glows red under the moonlight, and grants immortality if special circumstances are met."

"So it's a superstitious group."

Shinichi honestly wasn't sure if he believed all of what Kuroba-kun had told him, but he gave the answer that the woman in front of him wanted. "Yes, it would seem they're looking for immortality."

According to Haibara, so was the Black Organisation, but they seemed to put more stock in science than magic. There was still a possibility of coincidence.

The American's next question brought him out of his thoughts. "Any remarkable traits about these people?"

"Their agents wear brown trench coats, and their codenames are animals."

"Any known individuals?"

This was where things would get more interesting. "Have you ever heard of Gunter Von Goldberg II?"

She rested her chin on her fist. "Hmm…the name does sound familiar. Is he well-known?"

"Yes, he's a popular world-class magician and illusionist."

"And I'm guessing you're going to say he's part of this criminal group?"

"He's an assassin for temporary hire with them; he wears black and his codename is 'Spider'."

"Hmm…I see. I myself have never heard the name, since we usually only deal with criminals that have had dealings in the United States."

"The other I know of is called Snake. Apparently, he's the trigger-happy type, and way too sloppy to ever be a part of the Black Organisation. He's not one of the highest members either, but my source has had more dealings with him than anyone else. "

Now she leaned down a little to study him inquisitively. "Yes, how reliable _is_ your source?"

"I wouldn't dream of doubting him."

"Are you at liberty to give direct information about him?"

"He wishes to remain anonymous, for now at least." Kuroba-kun had never actually told Shinichi that he would eventually reveal himself, but Shinichi figured that, one day, it might be necessary, especially if he was to get a foot in to the Black Organisation.

"…I see," she said thoughtfully, "You were right in supposing that the FBI can't do much about this at the moment, but I can get in contact with the CIA and Interpol. I'm sure someone's working on this already, but I'll put all of this through the appropriate channels just in case. Do you know of anyone else involved?"

"…Yes actually, he's had more dealings with Spider than my source has, but…" Shinichi faced her gravely, "You have to promise to not mention me at all. He knows me, but has no ideas that I'm involved with any of this."

"That sounds worth it; he certainly would be able to give us more information on Goldberg, if that's even the man's real name. Who are we looking for?"

"Hakuba Saguru, a famous detective from London. Currently he's living in Ekoda with his father, the Superintendent General of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department."


	5. Chapter 5

Jodie-sensei remained for only about another half-hour, catching up with Shinichi. He briefly considered revealing his actual age to her, since it would make working together smoother and, maybe, they could help him get a hush-hush tutor to help him stay on track with his high school classes. Besides, the Black Organisation was already after their heads anyway; the woman and her friends wouldn't be in any more danger from knowing they were aiding another potential hit victim.

But if one of them were ever captured and interrogated, Shinichi, and by extension, Haibara, would be done for.

After the FBI agent left, the diminutive detective made his way to the shrunken scientist's lab in the basement, where she was, as usual, doing some chemical test or other.

She addressed him without otherwise acknowledging his presence. "Yes? I thought your chat with Jodie-sensei had nothing to do with _my_ Organisation."

Shinichi perched himself on a stool. "It doesn't; when I shrunk the other day, it wasn't like the usual."

That got her attention.

"Please, elaborate." She spared him a glance before returning to the petri dish she was inspecting.

Shinichi described what had happened. First, the pain had become unbearable much faster. Second and third, he'd had a fever and went unconscious, neither of which had happened since he shrank from the Paikaru Hattori had given him when the Osakan had first come to snoop around for Kudou Shinichi.

The chemist paused in what she was doing, but didn't take long to ponder the information. "This is good news," she said, "Either: your body is fighting the change more. I remember it wasn't any harder than normal when you grew this time, so your body seems to be choosing your older self as its preferred state; or this prototype may be on the right track. Or both."

Shinichi almost couldn't believe it. Finally, they were making progress toward an antidote!

"A few weeks from now," Haibara continued, "I want you to take another of the same prototype, but you'll be staying here, since I want to monitor you to see if the same changes occur, or if the effect is stronger. In the meantime, I'll work on a new model."

"Aww, why can't I do it _now_?"

"I'm limiting trials to one per three weeks after this next one," she stated matter-of-factly, "because one: your body needs to be well into a regular rhythm before we upset it again; two: the more Edogawa-kun goes on leisure trips, missing school all the time, the more suspicious it looks. Every three weeks is bad enough in that regard as it is."

Shinichi pouted a little at that, but had to agree.

* * *

Kaito was bored.

B-O-R-E-D-bored.

His concussion was much better, but he still got dizzy sometimes, so he wasn't scheduled to go back to school until next week at the latest. But while Aoko stopped by every day to deliver his make-up work, he was careful not to overwork himself: it would only slow his recovery. He'd already gone ahead and finished planning out his next heist, except for sending invitations (because that was more fun than homework).

The bruises on his ribs and jaw were lighter, but he'd still be applying make-up whenever he went out for the next three weeks to avoid questions.

And the new level of friendship with Kudou(-kun!) that he'd gained had been totally worth it.

So here he was, in his room, attempting to convince his teenage brain that the ceiling was more intriguing than images of Kudou Shinichi in his pyjamas and nothing else…

Damn it! He needed something to do!

…Well, if he couldn't get Meitantei off his mind, why not go see him?

* * *

It was Monday, and Shinichi couldn't remember if he had ever looked forward to recess during his real childhood as much as he did now. High school had been easy enough; second grade classes were just torture. As soon as class was dismissed, he grabbed his football and headed for his shoe-locker.

Twenty minutes later, when the tiny teenager returned to retrieve his indoor shoes, he found a sealed envelope inside. Strange, cases for the Detective Boys were supposed to go to Genta's locker.

During his mathematics class, when the possibility of asphyxiation via times tables was at its peak, Shinichi quickly snuck the letter out of his desk and opened it, using the cover of children's voices to cover the ripping of paper. Inside were three smaller envelopes, each labelled with a number. He tore the one labelled 'One', and found a note:

Every vagabond's pride, though he might sell it once or twice.

_It is never alive, yet it grows and changes._

_It's not worth much, but he always carries it with him._

_- K.K._

The second one was similar:

_A portable Wardrobe;_

_A Detective's delight._

The third appeared to be cryptography:

_tantei able xylology tent morose morose intelligence motif yen domino umbrella decor embrace botany oratio radial inquisitive deed 8029436487_

Well, well. Riddles in English. From his own personal Riddle Master.

* * *

About two hundred metres away, Kaito watched as Tantei-kun opened his delivery, frowning like he always did when solving a case. It was like there was an image of the teenager's real appearance superimposed over the child whenever he looked at the kid in elementary school.

He wished he could go inside and masquerade as a staff member and see how long it took Kudou to detect him; he felt a spike of jealousy at the other people in that classroom, how they got to spend hours a day, five days a week, with Kudou, even if all but one didn't realize it.

While he was at it, Kaito surveyed Kudou-kun's teacher for future…endeavours. The magician had practically been under self-imposed house-arrest for the past week, and he had reserve upon reserve of pulsing energy in his system just dying to pull a trick or three. Siting with binoculars outside the window wouldn't cut it for long.

It took less than twenty minutes for his phone to buzz. He flipped it open with silent glee.

**"1. Hair. 2. The Sherlock Holmes books. 3. 'Text me if youre bored'...It's funny how the English initials of your real name are the same as those of your 'work' name. - K.S."**

Kaito responded with a grin. **Correct on all accounts…Sometimes I think my oyaji planned it that way.**

A minute later, **"You shouldn't watch small children in a classroom by sitting on a rooftop with a pair of binoculars, especially with that creepy grin; you look like a paedophile."**

Huh?

Kaito brought the binoculars back to his eyes, and beheld the not-child holding a hand to a lens of his glasses, and looking right at Kaito.

He laughed out loud as he answered with one hand, maintaining a good view of Kudou's dry expression. **Didn't know your glasses had telescopic lenses. The hakase is good at what he does. Maybe I should call him with your voice and ask him to make me stuff, too~**

**"I'll be sure to tell him not to make anything for me unless I ask for it in person."**

**I'll just have to step up my disguise skills!**

**"Actually, I saw someone else of average height completely disguise herself as someone my current height. Not that I'll ever tell you how it was done."**

**Mou, you're no fun!...I'm better off learning how to make things myself, anyway. One's own creations are easier to maintain and repair.**

Kaito found himself immensely glad that he had decided to give his best tantei his phone number.

* * *

The monotonous existence at the Mouri Detective Agency continued for another week, interspersed with texting Kuroba a few times, until it was finally broken by the news of an impending Kaitou Kid heist. Edogawa Conan even received his own personal copy of the heist note in the mail, which he stored in his bedside drawer after he solved it.

Before he had met Kuroba, he hadn't bothered to keep his heist notes, for police evidence or sentimentality. For the first, Kid always worked thoroughly and the Taskforce never bothered to check the notes for fingerprints anymore. For the second, while Kid wasn't just another criminal, he wasn't anything like a friend, either. Now, he was, to a certain extent.

Fortunately, Shinichi didn't have to bring attention to himself by showing the note's answer to the police, since Nakamori-keibu was able to solve it.

According to Kuroba, the dear inspector had been a complete fool in Kuroba's early heists; but after a dozen or two of them, his years of prior experience against the original Kid finally woke out of its eight-year coma, and he was able to solve a fair number of Kid's riddles.

Later, during dinner, the phone rang and he answered it. "Moshi moshi?"

"Hey there, Conan-kun! Is Ran-san there?"

It was Kuroba. Someone else must be standing next to him. "Sure, Kaito-niichan! Just a minute."

He ran into the dining room with the phone, already forming a theory of why Kuroba had called. "Ran-neechan, Kaito-niichan wants to talk to you. It's probably about Kid's heist."

"We're in the middle of dinner, brat!" Oji-san glared, "Tell whoever it is to call back later."

"It's alright, Otou-san, I'm finished anyway." Ran accepted the phone from Shinichi. "Kuroba-kun?"

Shinichi went back to his rice in the meantime.

"…That sounds like a great idea, Kuroba-kun! When and where will you be? ...Really? I bet Conan-kun would love that! …Alright, see you then! 'Bye!"

She left briefly to return the phone to its cradle, all smiles. "He invited us to go to the heist with him! He's bringing his other friend and Hakuba Saguru, that British detective we met at the Sunset Mansion!"

Conan had been expecting all of that, save the last bit, which made him stop in his tracks.

Then again, he remembered something Kuroba had said on that night a few weeks ago, just before this whole madness started; Kuroba saw Hakuba often, it would seem. "How does he know Hakuba-san?"

"They're in the same class at school. Isn't that ironic, someone as rambunctious as Kuroba-kun and calm as Hakuba-san taking classes together?"

It too almost all of Shinichi's acting skills to not break out laughing.

Ran didn't know that half of it.

* * *

They arrived two hours early, only because Sonoko insisted, and Ran wanted to go with her.

It didn't take nearly as long to find Kuroba as Shinichi thought it would. Almost as soon as the trio reached the fringe of the massive beehive of Kid fanatics, the detective felt a pair of eyes on him that he knew to be Kid's.

Then again, he shouldn't be too surprised that the magician seemed to know as soon as his 'favourite tantei' arrived.

He heard a shout, coming from the same direction as a disturbance to the mindless flow of the crowd. Eventually, it spat out three people: Kuroba, Hakuba, and another girl who looked almost exactly like Ran, save for the lesser height and messier hair.

"Hey guys!" Kuroba greeted them loudly as he dashed over to them, seeming to have lost no energy from his battle with his unaware fans. The other two followed at a calmer walk.

"Hello, Kuroba-kun! Hakuba-san, it's been a while." Ran showed her characteristic friendly smile, and then bowed politely in the other girl's direction. "My name is Mouri Ran, and this is my friend Suzuki Sonoko." Sonoko bowed at the mention of her own name.

The other girl smiled back as she returned the bow appropriately. "I'm Nakamori Aoko."

"We really do look like each other, don't we?"

Once it was apparent that their conversation didn't need him to stay alive, Kuroba made a beeline for Shinichi. He squatted so they were eye-to-eye, running a hand through the not-child's hair. "Hey."

Shinichi immediately felt like the rest of the world had fallen away. Kuroba's smile had softened and warmed just a bit, as if Kuroba was making sure Shinichi would detect it underneath the somewhat fake face-cracking grin. The way that hand went through his hair wasn't rough like most adult did to kids; it was like Kuroba was doing it just for appearance. And he knew the squatting _was_ simply for looks: in the few times they'd been alone, Kuroba hadn't done that.

It felt like they had their own secret kept from the rest of the world. The lack of specifying a name in the greeting made him feel like both Conan and Shinichi were being addressed, as separate from each other.

He couldn't help but respond in kind, addressing both the thief and the teenager for once. "Hey."

It transported Shinichi's mind back to that time in his house a week ago, of just the two of them sitting in his house, having a good time talking about this and that.

Truth be told, he had never had that kind of companionship before that day. He decided really liked it.

"Good to see you again, Edogawa-kun."

The gentleness in Kuroba's expression vanished as Hakuba made his presence known behind the magician. Shinichi reinforced his child mask (which he hadn't noticed had drooped a bit until then). "Konbanwa, Hakuba-san."

"I wasn't aware that you two were acquainted."

Kuroba only now turned to face him, still at Shinichi's height, eyes lit up with the fake cheer usually reserved for children. "Yep, Conan-kun and I are like best buddies!" He put an arm around the not-child for emphasis. Shinichi just gave a cute-kid smile.

The Brit eyed them curiously. "I see."

It made Shinichi wonder if the FBI had already managed to contact him and he somehow suspected either Conan-kun or Kuroba. He highly doubted it, word didn't travel that quickly among the FBI.

* * *

Spending the pre-heist time with Kuroba was, well, a little disorienting. They were in the usual crowd at a Kid heist. _With Kid. _ The elusive thief had ceased to be an ethereal ghost and had become a person, with feelings, goals, hopes, dreams and fears. His two best friends were a detective and the daughter of the head of the Kaitou Kid Taskforce, and they both wanted him arrested. When Kuroba's other persona came up in conversation, Hakuba made a few snide remarks directed at Kuroba, Nakamori-san ranted on how she thought the thief was a jerk, and Kuroba claimed to be his biggest fan (which, Shinichi supposed, he was).

At one point, Shinichi thought he heard Ran laughing a distance away. She had left earlier to find a bathroom, more than half an hour ago, and her charge had begun to worry.

The sight that greeted his eyes took away his fear, but replaced it with a bittersweet mixture of happiness for Ran and heartache.

She was slowly making her way toward them, with Hondou Eisuke in tow. She looked like she was having a good time.

When the two reached the group, Ran introduced him to everyone, and Hondou smiled at Shinichi a little nervously.

"Apparently he called my home earlier and my otou-san told him we were here. He was in my class for a while," Ran explained, then turned back to him. "I thought you were going to finish school in America…?"

"I was," he answered with his characteristic awkwardness, "but I don't think I'm ready, so I'll be here at least until I graduate high school."

Shinichi ignored the rest of the conversation.

He had known that if Hondou ever returned to the area, he would have to officially relinquish his claim on Ran. Even if he didn't, Ran would tell him eventually, and Shinichi wanted the boy to hear it from his own mouth. He might as well get it over with before he lost his chance, since there would probably never be a time today where he could do it inconspicuously. Plus there were other things they needed to talk about if he was CIA now.

"Hondou-san, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Hondou smiled at him like he would at any other kid. "Sure, Conan-kun."

Shinichi led him a little ways away while the rest of the group continued on. Hondou went down on one knee to address him. "What is it?"

"Did the CIA send you?"

"No, they said I wouldn't get any assignments for a while unless there was an emergency."

"Did they fill you in about what's going on with your sister?"

"No, and I wish they would, too." Hondou's tone turned pleading.

Shinichi stood his ground. "They I won't, either."

"Come on! I need to know what's going on if I'm going to help!"

"They're smart in waiting. This is a dangerous situation."

"But this about my father and sister!"

"It's on a need-to-know basis."

"But…but…" he feebly objected until he found a new argument, "…I should be in the need-to-know group! This is _my_ family!..." His eyes narrowed sharply. "How did _you_ get in the loop anyway? If it's dangerous for me, why are they letting in someone less than three feet tall? How is that fair?! What right do you have to be involved in any of this?"

Shinichi refused to take this immature bullshit.

Closing his eyes and summoning his seasoned-adult-detective mask with a dash of Haibara-darkness, the not-child tilted his head down until he could see city lights reflecting off his glasses after pushing them up his nose with an air of tiredness. "This is about fairness now?" He asked calmly. "Since when is life fair? Do you know what I wouldn't give to be where you are right now, just a normal teenage guy finishing high school?"

Hondou swallowed. "I…I didn't-"

"And you want to throw it away so you can get some action? …Are you really that stupid?" he scoffed, "Are you really _that_ eager to get on their radar? Because once you do, they'll never forget your face. You'll be just like me: you'll never be able to see Ran or anyone else you know for very long again until every member is in prison, and that might not even be in our own lifetimes."

The frightened teenager didn't speak. Shinichi looked up at him, partly letting go of the custom-made mask.

"So if I were you, I'd go to school and be normal, and spend time with Ran. She's not interested in Kudou Shinichi anymore, so…"

Shinichi watched as this news jerked Hondou out of the dark mood he'd created. "She's…you're…?"

"I have no idea how she feels about you as far as romance goes, but right now she just needs a friend. It seems I can't be that friend anymore, except as a child."

With more than his usual skittishness, Hondou stood up and nodded to Shinichi respectfully. "Thank you."

Shinichi ignored it, verifying that Kuroba was no longer with their friends several paces away. "Tell her I'm going inside," he turned away, "The heist is about to start."

Of course, now he didn't even feel up to it.


End file.
